


Hometown High

by latenightlionheart



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Kayfabe Compliant, Possibly Pre-Slash, Teamwork, WWE NXT
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2018-09-07 21:03:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8816176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/latenightlionheart/pseuds/latenightlionheart
Summary: Aliyah is home and expectations, anxiety are running high. Luckily her teammates have her back.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Set before/after their match against Billie Kay/Peyton Royce/Daria Berenato taped for an episode of NXT before Takeover Toronto, 11/19/16.

"You nervous?" Ember asks, watching Aliyah fiddle with her hair, adjust her gear for seemingly the hundredth time that afternoon.

"Oh not at all! Except, no! Oh God, what do you think?" Aliyah answers, peering into the mirror and wiping away a stray speck of mascara near the crease of her eye. "I'm mostly trying not to throw up right now but it's not looking good..."

Ember joins her at the mirror, nonchalantly smoothing down a wonky lock of hair on the back of Aliyah's head.

"Please don't, if you barf you know Liv will too and you two have been practically mainlining Tim Hortons all morning," Ember grimaces, a playful _blech_ noise escaping her lips. "Really don't need to see that!"

Aliyah laughs, stealing a glance over at their teammate. Liv seems near fearless, brimming with energy, her curls bouncing as she shadow boxes off to the side of them.

"But you're excited, right?" Ember continues, moving to pick up some lip gloss. "Chick from the Six?"

"I'm totally excited! My family's here and my best friend too..." Aliyah's face momentarily lights up with a grin, but almost as soon it appears, it's gone and the little frown is back. "It's just...Peyton and Billie, they're always up to something and now they have, ugh-- _Daria_ with them, too..."

Ember notices Aliyah's little shudder just saying the other woman's name.

"Hey, you'll be great, okay? And don't worry, I'll look out for you," Ember tells her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Those two aren't gonna get anything past me, I'm wise to their ways now. And Daria's not that scary anyway..."

"Daria..." Aliyah repeats quietly, her brow furrowing as she frowns again, shaking her head.

Ember waves her hand dismissively. "She looks all tough with her harsh pigtails and that perma-scowl, but this ain't her little karate class or whatever. She's just another rookie here, she doesn't scare me."

Aliyah screws up her face again. "You're joking, right? She did mma! She's freaking terrifying! I saw her in catering earlier and I swear she scared the croutons out of her salad just by looking at it!"

Ember laughs, shaking her head. "Aw girl, come on now! You're the hometown hero! You got this! _We_ got this!"

"Yeah!" Liv butts in, bouncing over to stand between them now, her bubbly enthusiasm impossible to contain. "We _do_ got this!"

"You tell her, Liv," Ember says, her hand landing back on Aliyah's shoulder, firm - reassuring. "We won't lose and besides..."

Aliyah locks eyes with Ember, dark brown staring into red, deep crimson. "Besides what?"

"You also got wolf power on your side, baby," Ember says, sticking her tongue out with a grin. "Moon's not full but it'll be bright tonight, I can just feel it."

"Oh, well then," Aliyah says, an amused smile spreading across her face. "Sounds like we really _can't_ lose."

"Can't, won't," Ember says, beckoning the other two into a huddle. "Say it with me ladies, we got this!"

Aliyah nods to Liv before locking eyes with Ember again. The answer comes in stereo, their voices one, jubilant.  


"We got this!"

*

They're in a sports bar after, the roar of the crowd still echoing in Aliyah's ears as she sits near Ember sipping her drink. They'd won, just like Ember'd said they would and Aliyah can't remember the last time she's felt this impossibly _good_ , this carefree. She just can't help herself, Ember's been quiet and Aliyah desperately needs to know if she's feeling the same as her, but she'd have to be though, right? The feeling is damn near infectious and Aliyah is giddy, beaming.

Aliyah gently taps Ember's forearm and the other woman looks up from her phone, her smile just as bright and glowing as Aliyah feels inside. "Doing okay?"

"Doing great!" Aliyah blurts out, batting her heavy lashes slyly at Ember, before taking another sip of her drink. "I mean, tonight was awesome!"

Ember sets her phone down on the bar and turns her full attention to Aliyah. "Hell yeah it was! Told ya we'd do it, though!"

"You did," Aliyah giggles, poking at the ice in her glass with the tiny plastic straw. "Thanks for looking out for me..."

"What? It's nothin'..." Ember says, the faintest hint of an accent slipping out. "When I say something, I always mean it."

From across the bar, Aliyah hears Liv's laugh ring out, high and loud, and that's when the first sign of a buzz starts to really hit her. The feeling washes over her in an effervescent wave and for a moment she feels weightless, like she could float right off her barstool if she hadn't locked her ankles around the leg of it. She's pretty much unable to keep the dopey smile off her face too - it's irrepressible, just as unstoppable as she feels right now - and she doesn't want to, not after the night she's had, still having.

Aliyah giggles again and nudges at Ember's shoulder with her own. "So, like are you really, like, a werewolf?"

Ember cocks her head with a grin and flicks at one of the bejewelled metal cat ears still perched on Aliyah's head.

"I don't know, you really a kitty cat?"

**Author's Note:**

> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


End file.
